Your guide to 1,600 beautiful, natural places for a dip in the
US and Canada. A refreshing swimming hole or warming hot spring in a
river, creek, spring or waterfall is the perfect complement to your
favorite outdoor activity or a refreshing break on a long road trip.

To search for your
specific interest go to a state page (see
2nd map below), hit F3 on your browser and enter your search word. RESPECT -
Please do
not visit these beautiful, natural
places if you cannot respect them. Trash, rowdy behavior, drunkeness,
accidents
and trespassing on private property are causing us to to lose access
to more of them every year.

SAFETY
- Swimming in natural places has inherent dangers. There are risks to
life, limb and health involved. Caution can minimize but not eliminate
these risks. The authors assume no responsibility for sickness, injury
or death resulting from use/misuse of information contained
herein. See
our extensive SAFETY info
below the map.

NATIONAL
MAP

Use the
STATE MAP
(below "SAFETY FIRST!" info) if this National map doesn't work for you.

MAP USAGE:

To initially position map, put 2 letter
State
abbreviation in "find" box on map.

Zoom in: Double click (also re-centers) or
use slider
in upper left of map.

Click on symbol for more info -
opens new
window - to return to this map, just close the new window.

Symbols: = swimming hole;=
hot/warm spring

Search for "web
photos" and
"web info" may sometimes produce irrelevant results.
"Weather" is
for US only.

For
a
topo or other map, zoom in tight and switch
map type in the upper right corner of the map.

Most accidents/drownings in natural swimming places are
due to strong
currents, diving and/or alcohol. Do not let carelessness or
peer pressure get you into a situation you cannot deal with. Each time
you go, wade in gradually and check the current. Do not jump in until
you have checked both the depth AND the current first. Look downstream
- if the current is strong for a long distance or might pin you against
a large object (e.g., bluff, large rock or downed tree) don't go in.
Large
rivers have hidden currents below the surface - assume large rivers are
NEVER safe to swim regardless of how calm they look on the surface.

If you find yourself being swept away in a current, do not panic, do not fight the
current and do not try to stand up (foot can get trapped in
rocks) - float feet first
downstream on your back. Let the current carry you until it
becomes more gentle and/or until you calm down. Then, staying
on your back and still feet first downstream, gradually use your arms
to paddle to shore. If you swim or boat in creeks
often, you should practice this maneuver until it becomes familiar.

NEVER DO THESE THINGS (even if others are doing them):

Dive headfirst (paralysis, death)

Swim alone (no rescuers)

Drink alcohol and swim (drowning)

Go barefoot (glass, sharp rocks)

Stand directly under a water fall (rocks
wash over
falls)

Swim in upper pools of a waterfall (you wash
over
falls)

Climb above or alongside a waterfall (many
deaths
from this)

FOLLOW THESE ADDED PRECAUTIONS:

Don't put your hands or feet into places you
can't
see (snake dangers)

Most unofficial, natural swimming places are not tested for water
cleanliness. To see data on those that ARE tested, go to How's My Waterway?
We have not checked all of our listings against this data.
In many cases, you must be the judge.

If the watershed (upstream) includes farmland, ranchland or urban
development, you must be careful. Even if the water is normally clean
enough, AFTER A HEAVY RAIN sewage and toxic materials can be washed
into the water.

In natural hot springs and in other still, warm waters a
very rare but sometimes fatal aomeba infection has occured when water
gets into a person's nasal passages.

To be safe, do not
get water in your mouth, eyes, ears or nose. Do not submerge your head
- wear a
nose clip and pinch your nose closed if you jump into the water.

If
you get into poison ivy/oak, wash the skin area with soapy water
or rubbing alcohol as soon as possible and do not scratch.

LEGALITY

Much of the information on this web site is derived from other sources
- such as hiking and travel books, magazine articles, publications,
emails from visitors and other Internet sites. Our intent is to relay
this information as accurately as possible; we do not direct the public
to use these swimming holes. The existence of private property or other
matters of legality may have been inadvertently omitted or may be
inexact in some cases.

We are not able to do an on-site visit to each place, and even when we
do property ownership or legality is sometimes not evident. It is not
our intention to cause negative impacts to private property owners or
to increase their liability. When this is brought to our attention by
bona-fide sources, we act promptly to add this information to the
listing or otherwise resolve the matter on a case-by-case basis.

Remember
the "old swimmin' hole"? Well, many are still there and they are still
lots more fun
and naturally beautiful than a chlorinated swimming pool!

SwimmingHoles.info
focuses on moving, fresh water spots - like creeks,
rivers, springs and waterfalls. Also listed are some selected hot
springs (in the west) and other swimming places on lakes, quarries or
bays which have unique features that make them especially beautiful or
fun for swimming.

You may
need to get into some cold water to enjoy many of these (but
not the hot springs!), but the cold doesn't
last while the warm memories of a swim in a beautiful setting certainly
will.

THE
FINE PRINT: This web page
is operated as a
hobby only. The information presented is
compiled from many sources with varying degrees of reliability. Local
conditions also change over time. Accuracy of the information and the
safety and legality of visiting these places cannot be assured. My
intent is to relay this information as accurately as possible; but I
do not "direct" the public to use these swimming holes. Each visitor is
personally responsible for safety and legality (including observance of
private property)
each
time a place is visited. Also, inappropriate
behavior continuously reduces our access to these special
places - don't contribute to this tragic loss!

COPYRIGHT - All the
material on this web site is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office
(Registration Number TX6-245-508, Date 5/23/2005) and may not legally be
reproduced (except for personal use) without permission.

EMAIL - mail@swimmingholes.info. If you have a new
swimming hole or hot spring for me, or better information about one that is - PLEASE - Good directions are VERY important, refer to a MAP to
give directions!

LAT/LON TIPS - We
have latitude and longitude in the listing for every swimming
hole. See GPS and GOOGLE MAPS TIPS for how to get these into
your GPS.

WALDEN'S PONDS -
Swimming holes that are safe and fun for the whole family.

SPECIAL PLACES -
Tube in a circle, swim with an alligator, dive into a waterfall!

ABOUT SWIMINGHOLES.INFO
- Learn more than you would ever want to know about the why, when and
how of this web site.

About the Author

Dave
Hajdasz lives in Connecticut. He's an avid outdoor enthusiast who has
enjoyed exploring fun and unique places such as caves, waterfalls and
remote forests for the past 25 years. He's an experienced rock climber,
kayaker, hiker, mountain biker and trout fisherman, though he always
manages to get in a bit of swimming no matter where he goes. He holds
the unusual distinction of swimming in 12 different natural bodies of
water (one each month) in New England during the course of a year.